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Difference between spyware and a virus?

This is a great question.

Spyware is software that sneakily gathers user information through the user's Internet connection without its knowledge like emails, passwords and credit card information. Spyware does not copy itself. Antispyware software will discover and remove spyware from the computer.

A computer virus is a program that is maliciously downloaded (usually through an URL or link attachment) onto your computer without your knowledge and can replicate/copy itself that can crash your entire system. Antivirus programs will scan and remove any potential viruses.

These are totally useless fake security products that little garbage heaps try to tout to the unwary over the internet.

I am sure that my fellow moderators and administrators will be watching the next post in this thread very carefully.

If you cannot do someone any good: don't do them any harm....
As long as you did this to one of these, the least of my little ones............you did it unto Me.
What profiteth a man if he gains the entire World at the expense of his immortal soul?

A computer virus is a program that is maliciously downloaded (usually through an URL or link attachment) onto your computer without your knowledge

No, that's a trojan.

can replicate/copy itself that can crash your entire system.

A properly written virus does not crash your system. The whole purpose of it's existance is propagation and avoiding detection. Crashing a system would certainly indicate something is wrong and would only attract attention.

A virus is self-replicating code that needs other executables to attach itself to. A worm is self-contained, self-replicating code.

Oliver's Law:
Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

If you cannot do someone any good: don't do them any harm....
As long as you did this to one of these, the least of my little ones............you did it unto Me.
What profiteth a man if he gains the entire World at the expense of his immortal soul?

He means that a virus stays contained in the system it infected and does not actively seek out connections through the interbutts. A trojan is just something that tries to maintain an active connection from the infected target to whatever the host, or owner, may be....

Get infected and play with it. Windows can't kill the only thing good about it. That's DOS, and all of it's commands.

Spyware is software that sneakily gathers user information through the user's Internet connection without its knowledge like emails, passwords and credit card information. Spyware does not copy itself. Antispyware software will discover and remove spyware from the computer.

A computer virus is a program that is maliciously downloaded (usually through an URL or link attachment) onto your computer without your knowledge and can replicate/copy itself that can crash your entire system. Antivirus programs will scan and remove any potential viruses.

Spyware is a specific type of unwanted software that covertly collects your information. A virus is a specific way software can be covertly distributed, often by e-mail. Both spyware and viruses can cause damage to your computer or cause you to lose important data.